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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

India ends tsunami alert after Indonesia quakes

7:00 pm:India ends tsunami alert after Indonesia quakes

India withdrew a national tsunami alert issued after huge earthquakes struck off Indonesia, the Indian tsunami warning centre said. Disaster officials had earlier warned waves as high as 3.9 meters could hit parts of India's Andoman and Nicobar islands. A few thousand people were evacuated from the more vulnerable islands, a police official said.

6:50 pm: Major world earthquakes of 2012

A list of major earthquakes in the world in 2012, according to the US Geological Survey. Read on

Fearing a tsunami, the Goa government ordered tourists off the beaches here after a massive earthquake rocked Indonesia.

Speaking to reporters at the secretariat Wednesday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that vehicles carrying public address systems would ask tourist to stay off beaches and veer inland for safety in case of a tsunami resulting from the massive earthquake in the seas off Indonesia.

6:15 pm: Civil administration in touch with the army. Three planes will fly to Andamans with relief material, Times Now reports.

6:10 pm: Parts of the Indonesia's Sumatra island remain in danger from a tsunami following a series of powerful earthquakes off the Indonesian coast on Wednesday, but damage across the Indian Ocean basin is not expected, an official with the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

5:55 pm: Tanzania and Kenya have now issued tsunami alerts along their coastlines, ABC reports.

5:49 pm: All Indians staying in Thailand's Phuket island have been alerted by the Indian High Commission here following the massive earthquake of 8.7 magnitude that hit waters off Indonesia triggering tsunami fears across the Indian Ocean nations, PTI reports.

5:45 pm: Andaman Islands brace for 4-metre tsunami waves

A few thousand people were evacuated to higher ground from parts of Andaman and Nicobar islands on Wednesday following earthquakes in Indonesia, as the islands prepared for tsunami waves up to 3.9 metres high, officials said.

5:40 pm: Tidal waves off Andaman and Nicobar being monitored, Times Now reports.

5:35 pm: People from costal areas in Indonesia have been evacuated, police told Al Jazeera.

5:32 pm: A fresh tsunami warning has been issued after a strong 8.2-magnitude aftershock rattled the same area, Al Jazeera reports.

5:30 pm: The Pacific 'Ring of Fire'

In the wake of devastating - and unconnected - earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia and Samoa, the BBC News website looks at the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" - the zone of major seismic activity which has one of the world's most active fault lines.

5:25 pm: Disasters to hit Indonesia since 2004

Following is a look at some the major disasters, man-made and natural, to hit Indonesia since the Asian tsunami of 2004 as a 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia. Read on

5:20 pm: Big aftershocks strike Indonesia's Aceh

At least two major quakes with a magnitude exceeding 8.0 hit off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survery said, and a tsunami warning remained in effect.

The first quake measured 8.6 at a depth of 14.2 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey. The second quake was measured at 8.2 at a depth of 10.2 miles.

5:10 pm: 5 of the 10 largest earthquakes since 1900 have occurred in the last 8 years.

5:00 pm: The costliest earthquakes of all time

4:45 pm: Recalling the 2004 tsunami that devastated Aceh

A 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in 2004. It triggered a tsunami that left over 200,000 people dead in 14 countries, said CNN. In India, too, several thousand people were killed.

The damage was estimated at nearly $10 billion while the casualties were more than any other tsunami in history, according to the United Nations.

4:40 pm: The Indonesia geophysics agency has extended the tsunami warning in Aceh province for two more hours

4:35 pm: Witness tells Reuters agency that sea water at Simeulue Island near epicentre of quake has been receding by about 10 metres: ABC

4:16 pm: No likelihood of tsunami in Indian Ocean, says the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The tsunami warning has been scaled down for Indira Point and Kachal in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands region. The US Geological Survey too has said that there is no tsunami threat in Indonesia. Earlier reports said that the tsunami is likely to hit the Chennai coast at around 4.57 p.m.

4:16 pm: Fears of the tsunami hitting the coast of India is lessening by the minute, and here's why: Reuters, citing officials tasked to monitor the tsunami, says the initial wave measures a mere 35 cm (13.8 inches) high. The agency quotes geophysicist Victor Sardina of the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center as saying that while the first wave appears less threatening in magnitude, the agency continues to keep a close eye on developments, as "tsunamis come in waves."

The international airport on the southern Thai tourist island of Phuket was closed on Wednesday after a tsunami warning was issued following an 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, its director said.

"We have temporarily closed the airport following the tsunami alert," Phuket International Airport Director Prateung Sornkham told Reuters by telephone. Read on